End of an Era

This is going to hurt a little......

Many of you may have seen countless pictures of our family and the kiddos taking swan dives and perfecting cannonballs into a pool filled with crystal blue water over the past 10+ years. We have loved just taking steps out of backdoor and cooling off in the water -- and many of you know our story about that beautiful water filled with love. But for those of you who don't know, that pool is NOT in our backyard. I've always liked to say that we keep 'our' pool in our neighbor's yard 😉.  Let me explain:

When we moved into our home over 10 years ago, our gorgeous neighbors- Joe and Patricia Marinelli introduced themselves and invited me to bring Kaitlyn (Mikey was still 'cooking' at the time) to swim. It took me several invitations until I finally brought the babies over for swims and then it was kismet. It was initially the pool that brought us together, but we are now cemented like family. I am forever grateful to have them in our lives and for everything they have done for the kids and for us. They are truly amazing! Now... back to the cement pond 😂 ..... 

When they first invited us to use the pool, Patricia and Joe had 2 adult children that didn't live close and they really no longer needed (or wanted) it anymore. The care and upkeep is really a lot especially if you never use it, let alone the cost. But for over 10 years, this family kept up the maintenance of it: Joe was meticulous about keeping it spotless for the kids to swim every day. Honestly- if we came over and there was even a leaf in the pool he would run to grab a skimmer to try to clean it out! We would show up and there would be brand new toys and floats that had miraculously appeared??!! Certainly Patricia must have just HAD TO HAVE the newest mermaid tail to swim with (even though she has never ONCE not ever stepped foot in the water??!) 😜.  And then there were all of the SNACKS- my kids were treated like royalty with every snack and frozen delight known to man (and some not known or heard of- because leave it to Pat Marinelli to find the best of the best and uncommon amazing snacks!). 'Mom! Why can't we have these at our house???!!' Ummm-- because. And the list goes on and on and on. 

At the beginning of our visits, I was super happy that I had the safety of 2 fences that protected the kids and pool but I knew in my head that the reason we purchased our home was because of our backyard. We don't live in a neighborhood with a community pool- and that's ok. The trade in is that we all have pretty large lots and most homes have their own pools. Also, when we purchased our home, the plan all along was to build our own pool someday, but maybe when the kids were a little bit older. So having the Marinellis was kind of amazing for me-- I had the luxury of: a bonus family, a pool to visit nearby for the kiddos, and while the kiddos were small it had the safety features of 2 fences/ gates. 

But now the kids are older....  and Pat and Joe have put in WAY more than they should have in time and money in their pool and they have decided they are done with pool life/ care. So we have made a deal- we will move the pool to our yard and we will use the dirt from our dig to fill in their pool so they can have a yard again. Although it is sad to think their pool will be gone... the memories that we made while there (along with all of the ones that were made before us) we will have always. 

And now we have come to the end. So yesterday the kids had their FINAL swim. Their very last jumps. The last races. Last handstand contests. They got permanent markers and wrote goodbye messages on the walls of the plaster as the water drained out and signed their names and we all said our goodbyes and thank  you for wonderful times around her tiled basin.

And now. Today. We are Here:

all credit of this hard work btw goes to Hernandez Pool Construction who were working ALL day in 95+ degree heat!! Also, please note that ALL of this DEconstruction was done BY HAND. SERIOUSLY. They are BEASTS. 

Stay tuned as I will give more updates on the progress on Backyard de Burke....  but for now, lets just give a moment of silence for the End of an Era. 

Teddy Tales

 How 'bout a post dedicated to our newest band member: Theodore 'Teddy' a/k/a Bumskie Burke. He has been the most cuddly, soft fluffy addition to our family and he really has just been pretty amazing. I hate to admit it, but the kids have been absolutely pretty close to 'post-card' perfect with him as can be. I don't think Mike or I had to get up in the middle of the night more than once each to take him out when he first came home- and we had him on a pretty strict schedule of every 2-3 hours every night! Kaitlyn and Mikey actually fought over taking him out. Praise be!! And the proof is in the pudding:

We have a 'puppy cam' that is able to capture video and pictures of the room where Teddy stays. Here is a still shot of one of the hundreds of times Kaitlyn got up in the middle of the night to check on the baby and take him out in the middle of the night 👧

Tucking him in!

The results of staying up all night with a tiny baby.... sorry sweet girl- not too much sympathy here!

And a close up of that 'little tiny baby' in the room in his preferred sleeping position: upside down 😂

Again- taking care of puppies is HARD work! 

Busted! Ok- she's not the only one that likes to nap with the puppy!

Should we go back and discuss how tiny and cute he was just 6 short months ago? I can't believe how fast he has grown!! He was so, so small!!   

This was the day Teddy came home

Unfortunately for Teddy, he came to our house on a holiday- which means: DRESSING UP! 

Just a tiny nugget-- and already learning tricks!

This is Teddy's 'baby'. He has had it from day one here and carries it with him around the house. So sweet.  

Fun game to play: He was so small, we could play 'HIDE AND SEEK'! Can you find Teddy?!

Need a hint? Here is a close up of a sleeping Teddy Bumskie

Teddy loves to play games!

Since then, Teddy has had lots of adventures already: 

Trying out ALL kinds of new toys (definitely NOT a spoiled pup-- HA!) 

He got his new haircut/grooming... and it was LONG overdue. Poor baby was getting to the point where I felt like he couldn't even see well because his hair was covering his eyes so much! He got a nice, new trim looked very handsome.

BEFORE

AFTER.... and NOT at all impressed with me :)

We love when he cocks his head when you say his name or ask him a question.. it's so funny!

Teddy Bear Paws

We had more holiday fun: Saint Patrick's Day is always a hit at the Band Of Burkes!

If you don't know anything about the town where we live: Fort Mill, South Carolina- know that one of the things we are known for is our peach orchards (the SC State fruit- fun fact) and that for a few weeks in March the one thing that most families here do is get their photos done by professional photographers in the gorgeous blooming peach orchards. Walk into any house here in the area and you will see large canvas prints of smiling children with these blossoms surrounding them (but now that I mention it- please don't look for them on my walls because my children and husband are now shamed as we have never had our photos done in these orchards in the past decade) BUT... our dear Ted can hold his head high! Here are his famed peach blossom photos to live in infamy! 

And surely you've heard of the famous 'ZOOMIES'?? Well, Teddy has his case of them daily. They only last 5-10 minutes at most but MAN- he can be fast! I'm determined to get a better picture of his ears in flight.

Hanging out at our firepit with the family:

Teddy is also hard at work training too. We have a trainer Ms. Kate who comes every 2 weeks to work with him and the family and he is doing so amazing. 

Showing off some of his tricks!

He was able to have his first 'pup' cup SnoCone at Pelicans. He chose a peanut butter flavor and was a BIG fan.

Last pic with Mikey and his braces

Family movie night:

Ummmm.... another holiday and more outfits??? Better get used to it pal.

We bought Teddy a baby pool to keep all of his toys in the backyard, but it was so warm outside that the kids immediately just filled it with water and decided to see how Teddy would like to take a test dip....

And look who was ready for a BIG dip with the kids!!! I honestly think he'd follow them anywhere.

Exhaused from swimming and zooming

Teddy goes on walks through the neighborhood which also include trips to our neighborhood park.

And also swings

We've had SO much rain this winter- Teddy had to be prepared!

Such cool cats:

Waiting on the porch for his 'hoomans'.... he can hear them coming!!

'Are they here yet?!'

Another grooming and just a proud, handsome pup!!! 

Teddy just had his big surgery last week. It went really smoothly and he was only really just 'groggy' for a day or so and we just had to keep him quiet which was the hardest part for another couple of days. Instead of making him wear a cone to keep him from bothering his sutures, I found that just putting a pair of Mikey's boxer briefs on him worked better (thanks for the loaners, pal!). Teddy wasn't even bothered- even though the pictures seem to make it look like he was mortified and humiliated (which make it even funnier to me--- is that awful?!!). 

Just a pup and his cheerleader (You see? Already back in action and happy as a clam on day #2!):

Kaitlyn has been carrying him around like this since Day #1 but is now beginning to realize this may be the last time for a while she will be able to do it!! (He wraps his legs around her neck like a baby!)

Still carrying around that baby!

Warmer weather means.... riding in the jeep naked!! Teddy loves it- thank goodness. Because we're planning on having lots of fun summer adventures!

So-- should we see a little progression??? 

(Is this the shaggiest dog you've ever seen?!!!)

6 months: Almost 2 1/2 feet tall and 29 pounds! (pay no attention to his bare spot on his right leg- just still a little bare from his surgical shave a few weeks ago- seems its going to take quite some time to grow all of that doodle hair back 😏 )

WE LOVE YOU TEDDY AND ARE SO GLAD YOU'RE A MEMBER OF OUR BAND OF BURKES